Piwi family genes

Patent Granted The piwi (sometimes also PIWI; originally P-element induced wimpy testis in Drosophila[2]) class of genes was originally identified as encoding regulatory proteins responsible for maintaining incomplete differentiation in stem cells and maintaining the stability of cell division rates in germ line cells.[3] Piwi proteins are highly conserved across evolutionary lineages and are present in both plants and animals.[4] One of the major human homologues, whose upregulation is implicated in the formation of tumours such as seminomas, is called hiwi;[5] other variants on the theme include the miwi protein in mice.